Ramallah, Palestine-based Ibtikar Fund, the only Palestinian venture capital firm that invests in innovative Palestinian startups in the West Bank, last week closed its second fund ‘Ibtikar Fund II‘ at $25 million. The firm also invests across other geographies in the MENA region, mainly Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Managing partners, Ambar Amleh and Habib Hazzan closed the fund with support from their venture-focussed legal team, Kassim Legal which finalized the investment onboarding process for a key European institutional investor. Ibtikar secured $3,000,000 in funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), welcoming them as a Limited Partner of the fund.
Ibtikar’s second fund seeks to invest in 25 tech startups founded by Palestinian entrepreneurs in the MENA region, and has already finalized major investments in DataQueue, Mental, and Vatrin. The three companies were selected for their growth beyond local markets.
Speaking of the development, Ambar Amleh, Managing Partner, Ibtikar Fund, in a press statement said,
“This final closing marks an important step in our mission to provide much-needed capital to Palestinian founders, supporting them as they scale their businesses, fostering a tech ecosystem that is resilient and future-focused,” she said
Ibtikar Fund aims to strengthen Palestinian and regional economies in the coming years by providing startups with access to markets that were previously unreachable, and ultimately helping them expand their offerings and scale their impact.
LAFFAZ Media contacted Ibtikar Fund for their comments on how they are operating in Palestine amid the dreadful war times when human life is at stake. Addressing the question, Habib Hazzan stated,
“Our fund offices and the team are operating from Ramallah, Palestine. Our portfolio founders are managing their operations from the West Bank but as they grow they are also becoming regional and global with offices and presence across the Middle East and their respective target markets.” Hazzan told LAFFAZ
ⓘ Back in the 2020 COVID-19 period, we at LAFFAZ Media took the privilege to interview Ambar Amleh and Habib Hazzan. The interviews were featured in our digital magazine issue “MENA TOP 35 POWER BUSINESSWOMEN – 2020”
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